Attempts have been made to develop wheel designs that provide simpler attachment to an axle, or are more resilient, or possess better load distributin to impart improved performance to vehicles such as bicycles, roller skates and other movable objects on which they are mounted. Known designs include spoke members that are straight and/or coplanar with the wheel, i.e. that reside within the plane formed by the circular cross-section of the tire and axle, also defined here as the plane of rotation. When wheels are so configured, they absorb vertical and/or horizontal displacement forces poorly, and lack the ability to self-center or recenter when placed under load or while encountering such forces. Likewise, sudden impacts from obstructions or potholes can force the wheel to be out of "true", requiring wheel removal and "retruing", straightening or replacement.
Moreover, typical designs also include a continuous axle shaft that extends along the full distance from the outer to the inner hub of the wheel, inhibiting peak performance and requiring additional materials.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 813,423 to Hill reveals claw-shaped retaining devices for attaching wheels to axles. Hill's design includes straight wire spokes connecting each hub to the rim of the wheel, for standard force distribution, as well as a full axle shaft passing from hub to hub.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,078 to Sleffel discloses an improvement upon Hill's design through elimination of the retaining devices that attach the hub to the axle. Sleffel also reveals straight wire spokes and a full axle shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 515,456 to Wood addresses primarily the hub portion of a vehicle wheel, and shows arcuate spokes lying within the plane of rotation of the wheel and traveling in an arc from the hub to the rim of the wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,608 to Chamberlin, et al. reveals a spring wheel design for automobile tires having flat spring strips (instead of spokes) which radiate inwardly from each hub to the rim of the wheel and are also wholly within the plane of rim rotation.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,253,975 to Howard, et al. discloses a plurality of non-coplanar spokes which are attached to a plurality of independent rims.
These prior art devices, accordingly, all fail to provide, as the present inventor has discovered, a resilient, self-centering wheel that allows greater cornering ability and traction due to improved force distribution. Also, the prior art wheel designs typically and frequently need to be trued after impact or collision with fixed objects or obstructions such as rocks or potholes. Likewise, the prior art wheel designs have proven unwieldy or cumbersome in construction without a corresponding gain in performance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel that readily absorbs vertical and/or horizontal displacements.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wheel that enables self-centering or recentering when transversely or obliquely-directed stresses are applied.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a wheel with improved cornering and traction when placed on a vehicle such as a bicycle, roller skate or similar mobile object.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wheel assembly that sufficiently redistributes or "off-loads" sudden impacts to prevent the need for frequent removal and retruing.